Nothing shows the incompetence of the Republican rank and file in Congress than their opposition to the Ex-Im Bank on purely ideological grounds. The Ex-Im Bank is an independent government agency that finances the purchase by foreign companies of American products. The Ex-Im Bank does not cost the American taxpayers a dime. Not a word of complaint against the World Bank, an international socialist bank that lends money to foreign businesses and governments to finance foolish global warming projects and costs American taxpayers billions of dollars. Not a word against the waste of billions of dollars supporting the U.N., a basically anti-American world government. No proposal to eliminate US Department of Education or the US Department of Housing and Urban Housing and ousing andHHDevelopment, or to reduce the subsidies to wind and solar plants, luxury hybrid electric autos, businesses that invest in solar panels, etc., etc. Education and urban housing are state and local responsibilities under the US Constitution and both departments have abysmal records of accomplishment. And taxpayers are forced to pay higher electric prices because utilities are required to overpay for wind and solar energy. but none of this comes in for criticism from Republican from the Republican candidates.

The Ex-Im bank states that by financing the export of American goods and services, it has supported 1.3 million private-sector, American jobs since 2009, supporting 164,000 jobs in FY 2014 alone. There is no reason to question its claim.

Here in Pittsburgh, PNC Bank has been using the Ex-Im Bank to ensure some of its loans to foreign importers of American goods from its American clients, supporting American jobs.

Nothing shows the incompetence of the Republican candidates for president all of whom pledge to reduce the size of the federal government. What federal expenditures would they cut? They offer no specifics. As for increasing private employment, only Donald Trump offered a specific proposal, balanced trade instead of free trade which has produced mushrooming trade deficits costing millions of private jobs.

Isn’t it time for the presidential candidates to indicate their priorities, what federal expenditures they propose to cut.

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Comment by Bruce Bishop, 8/7/2015:

Compared to a dozen or so typical Republican candidates offering a range of non-specific campaign promises -- none of which will ever materialize -- we have a Donald Trump, who says he will challenge the Chinese and restore our manufacturing jobs.

When both the mainstream media and the Republican establishment attack a candidate and call him a "buffoon," I have to wonder whose side they are on. Trump turned an inheritance of $.5 billion into a fortune worth $9 billion. Trump is a showman. Obama is a showman. Trump is a builder. Obama is a destroyer. This country needs a builder, with a proven track record of building. This country needs a showman -- of the positive kind.

Supporting a Trump, against so many bland candidates, is a roll of the dice. True -- we don't know how he would work out -- but we know what we can expect from Hillary. I think Trump has a better chance of beating Hillary than any of the other candidates -- because he is a showman with an undeniable track record. How could he possibly be worse than turning the country over to a known criminal with NO positives?

[An] extensive argument for balanced trade, and a program to achieve balanced trade is presented in Trading Away Our Future, by Raymond Richman, Howard Richman and Jesse Richman. “A minimum standard for ensuring that trade does benefit all is that trade should be relatively in balance.” [Balanced Trade entry]

Journal of Economic Literature:

[Trading Away Our Future] Examines the costs and benefits of U.S. trade and tax policies. Discusses why trade deficits matter; root of the trade deficit; the “ostrich” and “eagles” attitudes; how to balance trade; taxation of capital gains; the real estate tax; the corporate income tax; solving the low savings problem; how to protect one’s assets; and a program for a strong America....

Atlantic Economic Journal:

In Trading Away Our Future Richman ... advocates the immediate adoption of a set of public policy proposal designed to reduce the trade deficit and increase domestic savings.... the set of public policy proposals is a wake-up call... [February 17, 2009 review by T.H. Cate]